Of Man And Beast Lost Journals of the 57th Legion
by TheKingofVersailles
Summary: The Odyssey of Senior Commander Khan of the 57th Legion of the Grand Army of the Republic. An adventure to the far edges of the Galaxy, a mission forgotten by the Archives of the Jedi Library and the Imperial Records, and the story of a man who has withstanded much more than a regular individual could possibly imagine. Inspired by the Journals of the 501st. *EXPANDED UNIVERSE*
1. ENTRY 1

Of man and beast

The lost journal of the 57th legion.

-ENTRY 1-

Journal of Senior Commander Khan, Alpha Squad, 7th Recon Company Veteran Captain, 57th Legion of the Grand Army of the Republic.

Under the advice of Grand General and Jedi Master Yoda, the Senate of the Republic has approved the mission that I find myself leading today. The 57th Legion is stationed upon 7 Venator Class Star Destroyers, and accompanied by a few dispatchments of various legions, mainly Airborne, Recon, and Infantry, in what, effectively, is the greatest expedition and, might I add, the greatest bet, this war-torn Galaxy has seen in a while. Together, we march towards the unexplored sectors of the Republic, and into the unknown. We have been following the Corellian trade-Spire from Coruscant, and once we reach Yag-Dhul Harrin, which we will try and avoid as much as possible, we will be leaping onto the Rimma Trade Route, as to simplify our test as much as possible. May the Force be with me and all of my men. Commander Khan, signing out.


	2. ENTRY 2

-ENTRY 2-

Journal of Senior Commander Khan, Alpha Squad, 7th Recon Company Veteran Captain, 57th Legion of the Grand Army of the Republic.

Fortunately, we managed to gather as many resources as possible on Bestine IV, and shift directly to the Rimma Trade Route, avoiding Wroona and Yag-Dhul; even though we had a few problems with rogue Vulture Droid Squads, which were probing the space surrounding Yag-Dhul, everything was dealt with with maximum expertise, and thus our voyage continues. The morale is high, shooting beyond the stars. You can see it in every single one of my men's eyes, piercing through the obscurity of the visors. Our search will not be in vain. And these troops know it. Commander Khan, signing out.


	3. ENTRY 3: TRITON

-ENTRY 3-

Journal of Senior Commander Khan, Alpha Squad, 7th Recon Company Veteran Captain, 57th Legion of the Grand Army of the Republic.

Continuing on the Rimma, my eyes filled with sorrow whilst we passed the forsaken planet of Triton.

Triton is a God-forsaken planet in the Outer-Rim, nearly uninhabited, and definitely useless by all means. Only a few Tritonites used to live here. But the Tritonites, they were isolated. Banished away from civilization and contact with any other species. The Republic had forgotten them. Isolation leads to fear, which leads to insanity. A few years ago, at the start of the Clone Wars, voices had circulated amongst the high ranks of the Army that Triton was being held by the Confederacy, using it's isolation to develop in total secrecy a weapon that could have shifted the balance of the war in an instant. Back then, I was but a recruit. A recruit of the glorious 13th Legion. You should have seen us: blazing helmets, the color of the sun, standing firmly at attention like a line up of statues that had passed the test of time. We felt like nothing could stop us. As a member of the 2nd Infantry Battalion, my job was to follow up the initial air-strike of our Airborne Squadrons. But when we set foot on Triton, our faces were in a state of total confusion: there was nobody waiting for us. Our leader, Commander Carolus, was nowhere to be seen. He had stayed on the "Phalanx Oplithica", our Cruiser, to "survey the operations". I've always had the thought, the near certainty, that he had already known from the start what would have happened to us. Leading our Infantry Battalion, was the Regiment Jedi Commander Vor a'Shanah, a young but tempered Jedi Knight. He was about to be "promoted", if that applies to the Jedi Order, to Jedi Master. He was one of the finest warriors I had ever seen in my life. He was our friend. His Master, General Beliath, used to mark a line in the ground during Padawan and Jedi Knight training, that nobody could trespass until he had delivered a speech. One day, whilst Beliath was giving his usual speech, on that day the topic was the typical "What it means to be a Jedi" jibber-jabber, the young Vor stepped across the line. Beliath, surprised, asked him "Do you know what you have done, young Padawan?". To which he responded: "This is what being a Jedi means to me, master. Trespassing the line, destroying the barriers that keep us confined, our limitations, to do the right thing. And the right thing now is to stop talking. For in silence, in order, and in self discipline, beware, self discipline, not discipline imposed by someone else, in these places the true meaning of the Force resides. If you had read the scrolls of Master Jedi Zang-he, you probably would have known this.". After that he became Beliath's personal apprentice. A remarkable being, truly.

But on Triton, none of that mattered. As we ventured in the hidden tunnels of this moon-like planet, the men became more agitated as the seconds passed. I felt fear, beyond my own comprehension. The dripping stalactites nearly touched our heads, and the heaping humidity started to influence our brain. Swamp worms leashed at our feet, latching on to our boots and armors. When suddenly, out of the darkness, came a small, humanoid figure. It had blue skin and wide, dark eyes, with little horns on it's head. Not intimidating, but certainly weird. It signaled to follow it down a dark tunnel. We almost felt compelled, attracted to the abyss. But Vor told us to keep marching. I followed him. Some of my comrades were not so lucky. It was like they had fallen under a spell. The cries of Our leader were useless. Twenty men had gone into the darkness. We wanted to run after them, save them. But it was rendered useless by Vor, as he sensed a disturbance in the force, and didn't want us to follow the path taken by the lost companies. As we lurched out of the tunnels after what seemed like hours of marching, we discovered that the same fate had struck all the other companies of the Battalion. Entire Platoons gone missing. We were nearly decimated. Fortunately, we had been reinforced with a second Battalion. After setting a base of operations, we discovered a CIS command post just a few miles north of our position. On the next day, we decided to attack, as to end this as quick as possible. The siege was brutal and immediate. They didn't stand a chance. After demolishing every single outpost on the planet, we discovered a civilian center. The inhabitants were similar to the creature we had found in the tunnels. We interrogated them one by one. Fortunately, the Archives of the Jedi Temple had registered an ancient Tritonian language, and we were able to communicate with them.

But on the morning after the encounter, more than half the forces that had reached Tritonian soil had disappeared. Including Commander Vor.

Our Sergeant decided to take the Squad back into the depths of the planet. What we discovered was shocking. All of the men had regrouped around a hidden shrine. Their faces pale, their armor torn. They were all chanting some sort of mantra in Tritonian, a mantra to a so-called "Elder Lord". We stayed hidden, witnessing the demise of our comrades. In front of them, our Commander. After the mantra, 10 soldiers were tied to the shrine, as a Tritonian "priest" sliced their abdomen open. The remaining acolytes feasted upon the victims' organs; the horrifying scene was too much to bear. Tears in our eyes, we grabbed our blasters and opened fire on the the mass of demented clones, or what was left of them. They were all too taken by the ritual to know what was going on. Soon, their bodies lied dismembered on the ground. Vor had his head drilled by a blaster shot, and thus ended what could have been the story of one of the most decorated and revered knights of the Republic. Demolished by sorrow, we destroyed the shrine and everything that was left of the inhabited centers, followed by our still sane companions, who had learned of everything thanks to a video recorded by our helmets' cameras. The result of the Triton massacre was the disbandment of the 13th legion, of which only 2 regiments remained. The same event had happened all around the planet, in various different temples. Men deployed: 9216. Men lost in combat: 1329. Men fallen to the cult: 2000. Men fallen to insanity and terminated in the following days: 2500. Total losses: 5829. The rest of the Legion was promoted in total secrecy, and divided throughout the other Legions. Weapons of Mass Destruction found: 0.

I shall not make this mistake again. My men will not suffer the same fate. Along with General Beliath, who to this day lives with the remorse of not saving his apprentice, and leads the 57th Legion with my support, I am one amongst of the most prepared men for any type of psychological and physical traumas.

But we must move forward, and move forward we do.

Commander Khan, signing out.


End file.
